Armor-Piercing Munition: Face Me, Carbon-Based Monster!
Chapter 129 - 38 Blood Skull

Chapter 129: Chapter 38 Blood Skull

"What’s wrong exactly?"

Chen Jian asked.

Xie Liu shook his head and replied:

"I can’t see, the room where the woman is giving birth is closed, I’m just judging by the sounds inside that it’s a delivery."

"The process should be going smoothly, but I always feel as if the people inside... don’t seem that happy."

"Their tone seems a bit... regretful?"

"I heard someone say that the baby is sick."

"But the exact situation is still unclear for now."

"Understood. And you?"

Chen Jian turned to Ji Xing, who pondered for a moment before saying:

"The smell of blood is a bit off, it has a bit of a decaying scent."

"You can smell that?"

Chen Jian asked in surprise.

Ji Xing nodded and replied:

"My sense of smell is relatively sharper than other Holy Blood beings—that’s not the point."

"The point is, I know what blood smells like."

"Different blood smells different. A heavy bleed smells different from a seep, red blood differs from black blood, and Holy Blood beings’ blood is way different from a normal person’s blood."

"But the scent of blood outside that room, doesn’t quite match any kind of blood scent I’ve smelled before."

"It mingles with some wound-rotting scent... just like the smell of a wound a few days after an injury."

"Overall, it’s very strange...."

"Shen Yue, is this normal?"

Chen Jian turned to Shen Yue, who thought for a moment before replying:

"Honestly, it’s quite normal."

"In poor sanitary conditions, blood, especially during childbirth, having a decaying smell is perfectly normal."

"However, the odd reactions that Xie Liu mentioned from the people inside are the key problem, right?"

"Birthing is something to be celebrated no matter in what world, regardless of how repulsive it’s felt before it actually happens, the birth of a new life is joyful."

"That’s human instinct, something rationality can’t combat."

"If there is no joy in the birth of a new life, it might just be like what Xie Liu heard, that the newborn is indeed sick."

"Moreover, it’s a disease visible to the naked eye."

"But we’re powerless here—we’re not running an orphanage."

Chen Jian rolled his eyes at Shen Yue and then said:

"What’s it got to do with an orphanage... we’re worried she gave birth to a monster, just like the offspring of those converts."

"Oh, I was just being presumptuous."

Shen Yue laughed awkwardly and argued:

"This is a basic quality of a doctor; no matter what kind of creature is born, we won’t see it as a monster."

"Otherwise, deformed newborns like those with cleft palate, conjoined twins, or anencephaly would all be treated as monsters...."

"...Your political correctness is astonishing... never mind, can’t be bothered to argue with you."

Chen Jian paused for a moment, then said:

"He Shuo, fly the drone to monitor that building in real-time."

"If anything unexpected happens, we’ll have time to respond."

"Understood."

Hearing this, He Shuo went to the window and quickly launched the drone.

The footage captured by the drone from low altitude quickly streamed to several people’s smart goggles.

Chen Jian saw someone open the door and splash a basin of blood-stained dirty water outside, and through the door, the drone managed to capture a glimpse of the woman lying on the bed inside the cramped room.

She was holding a baby in her arms and breastfeeding. From the appearance, the baby seemed normal.

But what’s slightly eerie is that the baby’s activity seemed... too high.

His tiny arms kept flailing in the air, even while feeding, showing no sign of calming down.

The mother’s chest was already stained in a small red patch, likely unhandled bloodstain.

Chen Jian zoomed out of the footage and then said:

"For now, it seems there’s no issue...."

"There is an issue."

Lei Jie interrupted:

"Where is the child’s father? The room is full of women!"

As the words fell, Chen Jian was momentarily stunned.

He immediately realized this wasn’t a trivial matter.

In such an important event like "birth," the absence of the father is indeed odd.

Although it could be explained away by various "ethical stories," Chen Jian knew it absolutely wouldn’t be that simple.

"Let’s just keep an eye on it."

Chen Jian said in a deep voice:

"Maintain guard as per the rotation schedule, tonight’s sleep will certainly be poor."

"Understood."

Everyone responded in turn, set up positions, completed the first watch, and then Chen Jian, without even taking off the exoskeleton, leaned against the bed and dozed off.

When he woke up again, it was already broad daylight.

Nothing happened that night.

The minor episode from last night eventually quieted down, as if all the speculations were nothing more than an overreaction by the few members of the team.

The morning in Susong Town revealed itself to be just like any other human settlement, with rising cooking smoke, the air wafting with the scent of food, and those who were early risers had already left their homes, walked to the lake, boarded wooden boats, intending to catch as many fish as possible before the temperature plummeted to unendurable levels as storage for the winter.

Led by Zeng Yi, the few members of the team headed to the center of Susong Town, set up a small flag according to trader’s customs, and laid out some of their carried items on the ground to sell.

In truth, they didn’t have much goods to sell, at most some ammunition to barely count as the "proof" of a trading caravan.

Fortunately, wherever high-grade 7.62mm bullets are placed, they’re solid currency, and it wasn’t long before a resident approached for trade.

Chen Jian used a dozen bullets to exchange for food that could sustain the team for a day, then traded one of Ji Xing’s grenades for a functional battery.

With this start, subsequent transactions became much simpler.

More and more residents began to crowd around, proactively asking if there were more goods for sale.

Chen Jian explained that there weren’t many goods this time, promising to bring more on the return trip.

But evidently, with great difficulty, having a merchant caravan visit, the locals weren’t willing to let them go so easily.

It wasn’t long before all the bullets Chen Jian had put out were completely sold out, and everyone looked at their weapons with desire, seemingly wanting to trade with something but knowing they couldn’t afford the right price.

Thus, the crowd gradually dispersed.

Apart from a few idle children peering at them from a distance, the area around the small stall quieted down completely.

Chen Jian loaded all the traded items onto the cart and then sighed:

"The trading activity here is quite frequent; their life isn’t too hard based on their eagerness to trade."

"They have surplus food and surplus fuel, their actual need lies in production tools."

"Maybe in the future, once the trade routes are established, we can transport what they need here."

"Even though the profit may not be high, the communication and exchange brought by the trade routes themselves have intrinsic value."

"We need to extensively spread our ideology, and leveraging trade routes is a good choice."

"Indeed."

Zeng Yi nodded in agreement, continuing:

"Actually, the Holy Blood Temple and the Mechanical God Sect are also doing this."

"But they focus more on larger cities; these small towns, they usually won’t come."

"That’s our opportunity."

Chen Jian continued:

"We want where they’re absent, we take in whom they reject."

"The less visited places have less religious influence."

"Like Yellow Stone City worships ancestors, while Susong Town worships wind turbines—although absurd, it’s easier to rectify."

"Indeed."

Lei Jie agreed deeply:

"In the future, if we could restore one or two wind turbines, we could directly bring them under our influence; it’s pretty good."

"That would depend on your capability; you think wind power...."

"Captain."

Chen Jian didn’t finish his sentence as Zeng Yi suddenly interrupted.

He then pointed into the distance and said:

"Someone’s coming."

"It’s that woman from yesterday!"

Chen Jian followed his direction and indeed saw the woman approaching with her newborn baby.

The baby was quiet as if asleep.

But the woman’s face was filled with sadness.

She reached the group, hesitated, then suddenly knelt, raising her baby high.

In Chen Jian’s astonished eyes, she spoke:

"Whatever the cost, please take him away!"

"Please let him live, let him live!"

The woman had begun to cry, and from behind her in the street, men with weapons suddenly rushed over.

The team instantly went into alert mode. As Chen Jian’s weapon rig unfolded on his back, every person rushing over instinctively halted.

The pure pressure from the aura of slaughter intimidated them, stripping them of their courage to move recklessly.

Chen Jian looked down at the woman and said:

"We don’t take babies."

"If you have any difficulties, perhaps we can offer some help."

"I have no difficulties; I just want him to live...."

The woman cried:

"Look at him, he’s healthy! He should live!"

As she spoke, the woman uncovered the blanket wrapping the baby.

"Look, his limbs are intact, he’s strong, he...."

"Wait!"

Chen Jian interrupted the woman.

His gaze grew solemn, as did the rest of the team members.

Yes, the baby was strong.

But he was far from healthy.

Because on his chest, there was a terrifying crimson mark.

A mark left by herpetic lesions oozing fresh blood.

Chen Jian took a deep breath, tightened his grip on his weapon.

And Xie Liu squatted down next to him for a closer look, then spoke:

"Typical skull herpetic appearance."

"It’s Blood Skull!"